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Caesalpinia sappan (CS) has been commonly used in beverage and folk medicine in China and ASEAN countries because of its various therapeutic properties. Only the heartwood has long been used in traditional medicines due to the presence of high concentration of brazilin (one of the most important bioactive compounds), whereas the other parts are limited in use. Thus, this work aimed to investigate ways of utilizing other parts of CS. This information is important for further use of other CS parts to promote zero waste and hence sustainable resource utilization. Herein, the crude ethanolic (CEE) and crude aqueous (CAE) extracts from twelve parts of CS were evaluated for their biological activities for the first time. Our work demonstrates that not only the heartwood, but also other parts of CS exhibit interesting biological activities. CAE from heartwood of branches exhibits the highest antioxidant activity, which is higher than that of the positive control, butylated hydroxytoluene. CEE from florets shows the highest inhibitory effect against α-amylase, while CAE of barks shows better α-glucosidase inhibitory activity than the existing glucosidase inhibitor (acarbose). Molecular docking of brazilin (key bioactive compound) to both α-amylase and glucosidase can also confirm the tight binding of brazilin to α-glucosidase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to investigate the mixed culture of Bacillus subtilis, B. licheniformis and B. megaterium to control acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease (AHPND) or EMS (Early Mortality Syndrome) in white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei as a model. The infected shrimps with Vibrio parahaemolyticus AHPND strain were divided into tanks and different feeding of either B. subtilis, B. licheniformis, B. megaterium or all Bacillus strains. The infected shrimps that were fed with a mixed culture of Bacillus showed significantly highest survival rate and revealed lower percent detection of V. parahaemolyticus AHPND strain by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) (57.14%) with a small amount of viability count in their hepatopancreas. In contrast, the infected shrimps that were fed with each of B. subtilis, B. licheniformis or B. megaterium, revealed the spread of V. parahaemolyticus AHPND strain in all tissue by PCR detection (86.67%-100%) with a large amount of viability count (3.53 - 4.24 × 103 CFU/g). This study indicated that the mixed culture of Bacillus subtilis, B. licheniformis and B. megaterium could control the dissemination of V. parahaemolyticus in shrimps, especially in hepatopancreatic that is the target tissue of AHPND in white shrimp (L. vannamei). The result of this study revealed the efficiency and mechanism of the mixed culture of B. subtilis, B. licheniformis and B. megaterium to control the virulence of AHPND and support the application of this mixed culture in aquaculture of shrimp farms to avoid chemical and antibiotic treatment by using it as a biological control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The diversity and abundance of marine crabs from a collapsible crab trap fishery at Kung Krabaen Bay, Gulf of Thailand, were observed from August 2012 to June 2013 using 10 sampling stations. The results showed that there were seven families, 11 genera and 17 species (two anomuran and 15 brachyuran crabs). The two anomuran species were Clibanarius virescens (1,710 individuals) and Clibanarius infraspinatus (558 individuals). For brachyuran crabs, Portunidae was the most common family, including 10 species. The dominant species of brachyuran crabs included Thalamita crenata (897 individuals), Portunus pelagicus (806 individuals), Charybdis affinis (344 individuals), Scylla sp. (201 individuals), and Charybdis anisodon (100 individuals). The abundance of crabs was affected by the habitat type. Anomuran crabs had the highest abundance in Halodule pinifolia seagrass beds, whilst brachyurans had the highest abundance in Enhalus acoroides seagrass beds. The dominant brachyuran species were found in pelagic areas near the bay mouth, such as P. pelagicus, P. sanguinolentus, C. feriatus, C. helleri, C. natator, C. affinis, and M. hardwickii. Lastly, reforested mangroves were important habitats for Scylla tranquebarica and C. anisodon. Seasonal and physical factors influenced the abundance of some crabs, for example, the abundance of C. virescens was correlated with temperature, and the abundance of T. crenata was correlated with transparency depth. Our results revealed that Kung Krabaen Bay serves as the home to many marine crab species; however, our results also revealed that 49% of the harvested crabs (2,308 out of 4,694 individuals) were simply discarded and subsequently died. Moreover, our research noted that eight non-target species will become target species in the near future. Therefore, research on the reproductive biology of some marine crabs and an improved understanding of the importance of marine crabs by local fishermen are necessary to prevent biodiversity degradation and loss in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A stock assessment of blue swimming crabs, Portunus pelagicus was conducted with crab gill nets and collapsible crab traps at Kung Krabaen Bay, in the eastern Gulf of Thailand, from 2008 to 2009. Several key indicators show that P. pelagicus population is in crisis. Fishing mortality shows an increase to 4.14. The exploitation rate is 0.71, higher than the optimal value of 0.38. The size of the mature females has also decreased from 8.10±0.39 cm to 7.52±1.14 cm. The average fecundity is 0.572×10(6)±0.261×10(6) eggs per batch, and the sex ratio (male:female) is 1:0.92. Based on these results, a sustainable management program for P. pelagicus was proposed as follows: (i) closing the bay during the spawning season, (ii) restoration of the Enhalus acoroides seagrass beds, (iii) restocking crab larvae in the bay and (iv) educating and networking all stakeholders to develop a better understanding of the ecology of the crab to support sustainable fishery management in Kung Krabaen Bay.

The natural diet of blue swimming crabs, Portunus pelagicus, was investigated from October 2008 to October 2009 using hand sampling and a crab gill net. The results showed that the major prey items in the stomach contents of P. pelagicus were teleost fish (29.61%), organic matter (20.69%), crustaceans (18.3%) and shelled molluscs (11.46%). Significant differences were found in diet composition between juvenile and mature crabs, between crabs inside and outside the bay and among seasons. In contrast, significant differences were not found between male and female crabs.